


What Must Never Be Lost

by Abby_Ebon



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Naruto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-12
Updated: 2012-07-12
Packaged: 2017-11-09 20:33:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/458085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abby_Ebon/pseuds/Abby_Ebon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>HarryPotter&Naruto Crossover. ItachiNaruto. HarryDeidara. When Naruto was eight, Itachi became his mentor. Then, in the wake of a massacre, they both fled to Akatsuki; Orochimaru made a grave enemy of them both; do not ask about Deidara. Or Harry. Slash.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Where Sky Eyes Touched Flame

**Author's Note:**

> Tthis started with a challenge from KingofLoosePages; then it grew horns and a tail and freakin' danced the waltz when I happened upon a story by DarkCrimsonFlame3 and the story "A Treasure" where, in a chapter, the author tempted with a bunny then left it to imagination. I'm hoping that writing this will appease the plot-demon who has my "Song of the Caged Blackbird" and "In The Corner Of Your Eye" bunnies enraptured like the drooling tots who followed the Piper.
> 
> Note to self, Abby m'girl – do not deny the plot-demons! Noted.
> 
> Warnings; mentions of child abuse (neglect, manipulation of children) and the killing of "random" people by teenagers (and children) – mature audience preferred; eventual slash – which, by the way – is male on male romance. Also, ages of current main characters... Itachi – (thirteen) 13; Naruto – (eight) 8. So, it's the usual for me, my doves.
> 
> Beta; Kuro Ookami Hatake, (as of 10/29/09) who really did a great job working with this chapter.

"You four are such troublemakers!" Iruka exclaimed, his expression clearly frustrated – his hands were clenched into fists which hung at his sides. His voice was not quite yelling – yet – but still loud enough to catch their attention and hold it. Naruto couldn't help it – he giggled, Iruka's flower-white face twisted into a scowl.

"That's it – Naruto, I know you had something to do with this last prank, so come with me!" Iruka demanded in a tone that could not be mistaken for anything else but what it was – an order. Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but Iruka shot him a warning glare, and for once, he shut his mouth and came forward to stand at Iruka's side. The older man laid a hand on his shoulder, his grip impossible to escape and began to lead Naruto out of the classroom.

Behind him, before the door shut – he heard Kiba exclaim something, and Chouji's agreement, Shikamaru – Naruto knew – watched and studied everything silently. He was a lot smarter then he acted.

"W- what," Naruto's voice cracked embarrassingly and he paused to gather his words and put them forward, "what are you going to do, Iruka?"

"I've half a mind to throw you out of the Academy," Iruka hissed the words out threateningly, and Naruto felt himself go cold – his dream, he could never accomplish it if he was thrown out of the ninja school, "instead, I'm giving you over to a tutor – your grades are suffering, so you are more then eligible. Hopefully, he will also mentor you – there is hope for you if he does."

"W-who?" Naruto asked softly, mind scrambling to remember who he had seen around school that was not a teacher or student who he knew.

"Itachi Uchiha. You'd better hope he'll tutor you, or I just don't know what I'm going to do with you." Iruka stated, and Naruto swallowed, his chest aching at the thought of not having a place in the village.

Finally after a walk that seemed to go on forever, they came to a door that seemed to look both imposing and impossible. Iruka opened it easily, silently urging Naruto to follow – the blond did, and when he entered and looked up his eyes caught the red ones glaring at him from across the room. Naruto froze, but Iruka did not seem to notice.

"Itachi-sama," Iruka bowed to the youth, for he could not be more then five years older then Naruto – a kid, Iruka was bowing to a kid, Naruto felt his world tilt, "I know you are busy as the Captain of the ANBU, so I thank you for taking the time to come to the Academy and volunteer to mentor one of my students."

"It's nothing." The empty voice seemed to echo, and Naruto watched wide-eyed as the intimidating teenager stood.

"Is this the boy?" Itachi asked, his attention drawn to Naruto once more, when Iruka spoke, Itachi did not turn away. Naruto stood, rooted to the floor – it was like he was trapped by the red gaze that dared him to move. This, Naruto thought his hands feeling acutely sweaty, must be how a mouse feels before the snake strikes.

"Yes." Itachi tilted his head, and Naruto knew he was being measured – dryly, the blond swallowed and wondered what Itachi thought.

"What do you think? Is there any hope for him?" Iruka asked – it was likely meant to sound joking, but Itachi seemed to take him all too seriously. Naruto knew his future – his dream – rested upon this person finding him worthy to teach. He had intended to charm and impress him – but how could he do any of that when he could not so much as speak?

"Yes. I accept him as my student." Itachi stated softly, seeming to dare Iruka to disagree. The young teacher only smiled and shook his head – he knew Itachi liked a challenge, but he did not think the young ANBU Captain knew what he was in for.

"Then, I leave him in your hands." Iruka said, patting Naruto on his head – the blond looked up at him with pleading blue eyes, but Iruka ignored Naruto's silent pleas. This was a lesson that would be good for the boy; or, Iruka thought as he took one last glance behind him to the frozen blond and the wary Itachi, it may kill him.

Iruka shook the thought away and walked back to his classroom.

"What is your name?" Itachi asked very slowly, as if he thought Naruto an idiot. It sparked the young blondes anger, and frowning now – he flashed his teeth in a grin that showed his teeth in a not friendly way.

"Naruto Uzumaki, yours?" He asked in turn, Itachi's lips twitched into a smirk.

"Captain Itachi Uchiha of the ANBU." Itachi replied in kind, though he did not smile.

"What are you doing here mentoring at the Academy when you could be out there?" Naruto asked abruptly, unable to stand the thought of falling into awkward silence with the older youth. For a moment, Naruto thought he would not answer – but he did.

"My father thought it would be good for me, the Hokage, unfortunately, agrees." Naruto nodded as if he understood, but he did not – he had never had parents, and the Hokage while the only grownup who made an attempt to be pleasant to him – was a old man who had the whole of the Village of the Leaves to care for.

"Sucks to be you." Naruto muttered, Itachi could have almost smiled with the next lip twitch smirk thing, but Naruto doubted it.

"Agreed, now, I have some lessons in mind that will take place off school grounds – so I will need to meet your parents and have them sign these papers." Itachi told him while reaching into a vest pocket, pulling the folded forms from it and flicking them open with a smooth movement to show to Naruto. He squinted at them – they had red checks were there were supposed to be signatures.

"Come back tomorrow with them signed – or do not come back to the Academy at all – are we clear?" Itachi asked him, red eyes glared into his own, and Naruto swallowed nervously reaching out with his grubby hand for the papers tucked between Itachi's thumb and forefinger.

"I-it has to be a parent?" Naruto asked softly, the papers now in his hands. Maybe, he thought as he glanced down at them and to the floor beyond, I can forge my parent's signature…

How, after all, would Itachi Uchiha know the difference? There were a lot of people in the village and the ANBU Captain couldn't know all of them…

"Or your guardian," Itachi allowed seeing the boy's hesitance, "are we clear, Naruto Uzumaki?"

"I-I…I don't have either…I'm a…an orphan." Naruto blurted out, not daring to look Itachi in the eye.

"Is that all? Well, get the orphanage's director to sign it." Naruto knew he was in trouble now – Itachi knew the Hokage, and the old man would at least know which orphanage he had placed Naruto in. The thing was – Naruto had run away from the orphanage. The director was cruel to him, only allowing Naruto to eat last – encouraging the other orphans to tease and mock him – paying the least attention to Naruto when it had come to learning numbers and words.

"A-alright." Naruto agreed shakily, turning to leave. All at once, he was pressed to Itachi's front – one of Itach's hands was around Naruto's neck – the other kept him in place. Naruto felt the strength in those arms, and shook – feeling as if he were a newborn kitten. Weak –defenseless, helpless – all of those, and incredibly stupid, his breath caught in his throat – Naruto waited for Itachi to speak.

"Are we clear on the papers, Naruto?" Itachi hissed into his ear, and Naruto shuddered, nodded, and hoped that was enough for Itachi because he did not think he could speak. It felt as if something was stuck in his throat.

"Good boy." Itachi's tone had changed – it was almost as if he was pleased, purring the words out, all of a sudden Naruto found he was free – and Itachi was no where in sight.

Shakily, Naruto left – and didn't bother to tell Iruka good-bye, he felt betrayed by him. Why had his teacher left him in the clutches of that monster, after all, teachers were supposed to guild him – not throw him to the wolf when he became too unruly. He did not bother to wait until the students were released as he left, only then did it occur to him that Itachi hadn't told him where to meet him the next day?

Anger kindled within him – did the Uchiha think he was a quitter? That he wouldn't show up with signed papers? Naruto would prove him wrong. He'd get those papers signed – signed by the Hokage himself! Then Itachi would have to think better of him.

After much pleading and begging on Naruto's part, he had managed to get the Hokage to sign the papers. So it was with a lighter heart that Naruto went to the Academy, papers in his pocket and full of renewed determination to face Itachi and come away with the elder boys respect.

But Itachi was no where in sight, and slightly depressed, Naruto went to the swing. It was the only thing he could claim as "his" in the school, because he was the only one to use it – and the other kids were wary of him because of their parents.

Naruto thought it might have something to do with him being an orphan. Or maybe even who his parents were – he only knew that they must have died around the time he was born. Around the time of the Kyuubi attack, for he had no memories of them whatsoever.

Because of whatever it was that made his peers parents wary of him – Naruto had never really had any friends. Sure, there were Kiba, Chouji, and Shikamaru – but they only played pranks with him, they never wanted to talk to him out of school.

That was why, he supposed, he was taking Itachi's abandonment so hard – he had really worked hard to get the Hokage to sign those papers – and Itachi had just walked away from him without giving him a chance…

"There you are." Naruto tensed when he heard Itachi's voice, but other then that he showed no sign of having heard the older boy.

Naruto wasn't sure how he felt – pleased that at last someone was giving him a chance of proving himself – and maybe befriending him, or terrified that Itachi of all people were giving him this chance.

"What are you doing out here all alone?" Itachi asked then, having come up from behind him to stand beside the swing on which Naruto sat upon.

"No one really cares what happens to me," Naruto answered with a shrug unaware of the ruby eyes that had widened in surprise, "so I get away with a lot." Naruto finished, hand digging in his pocket for the papers – they were gone!

His eyes widened in panic, heart beating frantically in his chest. What would Itachi do to him if he showed up at the Academy without the papers at all – what could Naruto possibly tell him to excuse his papers gone missing?

"The Hokage apparently cares very much for you – he did sign these, after all." Itachi spoke, and Naruto felt cold – he'd done it on purpose – Naruto was sure. He glanced up at the teenager, who indeed held the papers, their eyes met, and Naruto glared.

"Stop that." Naruto demanded with narrowed eyes, Itachi looked honestly puzzled for a moment before his expression slipped back into the natural mask.

"Stop what?" Itachi questioned him, slipping the signed papers into his vest pocket.

"Stop freaking me out!" Naruto ordered shortly, as his skin began to feel as if it was crawling.

"I do not understand." Itachi said, and to Naruto – it sounded as if he was being sincere. Naruto chewed on his bottom lip as he thought about how to explain to Itachi what, exactly; it was about him that was "freaking him out".

"I get it – your skin crawling scary and bad ass powerful, but that doesn't mean you have do be so damned serious and threatening all the time! Your human too you know!" Naruto exclaimed, feeling as if he had hit the hammer with the nail.

"I shall keep that in mind." Itachi murmured softly, eyes distant. Naruto shifted his feet in the dirt – now he felt guilty.

"Sorry, it's not as bad as all that...I guess it just takes some getting used to." Naruto apologized with a sigh, Itachi's lips twitched in amusement or annoyance.

"I suppose it would – like following directions." Itachi stated, looking down at Naruto in a way that made it impossible for the blond to ignore him.

"What do you mean?" Naruto demanded, boldly looking up to glare into Itachi's red gaze.

"I asked you to have the papers signed by your parent – guardian – or the orphanage dictator. The Hokage is neither of those things." Itachi in such a way that Naruto knew he could not argue with him.

"Next time I ask you to do a thing one way – you will do it that way – voice any objections or harebrained ideas you may have when I ask you to do it – not after." Itachi continued in soft dangerous tones, red eyes gleaming as they narrowed.

"Understood, Naruto?" Itachi finished a little louder, and Naruto, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment at being lectured, looked aside.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Itachi." The blond grumbled, looking as if he was pouting.

Itachi, for the first time in his life, felt like sighing in exasperation. Itachi had only had dealings with his younger brother who happily complied with whatever Itachi asked of him with as much effort as he could summon. The adults Itachi dealt with respected him for his power, name, and ability – they only questioned him when they had a suggestion, and most of the time Itachi's plan was the better one. He was, after all, a genius.

When it came to Naruto, Itachi wondered if he could cope. He liked a challenge though, and Naruto was assuredly that.


	2. Blood Above The Clouds

_ Previous Night,  _ _ Uchiha Compound  _

"I have heard some interesting things of how you spent you day, Son. Why do you not enlighten me with your own words?" His fathers tone was particularly smug, though for all that it was a question, it was also a command. Itachi did not meet his father's eyes, stirring his rice and fish lazily about his plate. He pressed his lips together, glancing to the enduringly composed face of his mother.

Itachi had always hated family dinners. It was the one thing that his mother insisted upon that he could not let himself disappoint her with in his failure to make, in the least, an appearance. It was his mother who he respected, not, as some assumed – his father. Itachi had known since a young age that his father would use what Itachi did to reflect well upon himself. To his father he was a tool that had its use.

"I went to the Academy to receive the regular reports." Few knew that it was the ANBU Captain was in the sway of such a thought of menial task. Those few, Itachi had always thought, were fools to think to entrust the education and future defense of Konoha to someone lesser then a ANBU Captain, who was loyal to the Hokage above all things.

His father's lips pressed, his eyes become narrowed at a not quite imagined slight.

"I heard that an instructor spoke with you of a failing student just a day or so ago." His father boasted, and Itachi tightened his fingers around his eating utensil, though his father was unaware – or simply ignored – the movement.

"Yes." Itachi murmured in agreement, releasing his death grip to set the would-be weapon aside. It would do no good to threaten his father; he already had a harsh grip on Itachi. His mother – his brother – those things his father could take from him without remorse. It was a game, deadly even in its nature, that they played. Itachi loathed it.

"This… _student_ ….would be one Naruto Uzumaki." His father asked, smirking even as he got to the heart of the matter. Itachi forced himself to look his father in the eyes. A monster lurked there, power hungry and more ambitious then most would think by the look of him. Itachi knew better then to trust appearance.

"Am I not correct?" His father's tone grew cold, promising something worse then mere physical pain if Itachi dare disagree or hint to disobedience. Itachi tensed, narrowing his eyes as he glanced to the stiffening form of his mother. He had only a moment to be glad his brother was not sitting beside them, if this was an early indication, he knew it would likely end in bloodshed if things did not go as his father wanted.

"You are, Father." Itachi answered softly; tense and wishing he could be anywhere else.

"Fail him," it was a demand, his father's eyes gleamed with wicked delight at this would-be show of open insubordination against the Hokage, "and Itachi…if you can, kill him…" His father grinned when Itachi flinched, chucking as he saw Itachi struggling with himself.

"You are excused…" It was a clear dismissal; Itachi was quick to go, not aware until he arrived that he had been seeking out the only refuge he knew, that of his cousin's house, Shisui. He wondered if he would be welcome, even as he knocked upon the thin wooden door.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"The way I see it, Itachi," Shisui mused softly looking into the drudges of his tea, as if they would tell the future as it was in old wives tales, "you have two choices…kill the boy, or train him while playing as if you intend to do as your Father wills when it is convenient."

"The Hokage has given me an order, concerning the boy." Itachi told him, somewhat reluctant to do so for he had not told his father this. Shisui's eyes widened only slightly, and then he shook his head seemingly amused.

"And, I take it; your Father gives one to the contrary." Shisui finished, filling in the blanks as only he could. Itachi nodded slightly, fingers tightening about the tea bowl. He loathed bring used, and though Shisui knew this, he also knew Itachi had little choice on the whole.

"What will you do?" Shisui asked when the silence lingered between them, seeming to choke off their words before they were thought. Itachi looked up slowly, with Shisui he could show his eyes for what they were, coal black and seemingly endless in depth. His mother had told him his eyes were uncanny, but she was of a handful to meet his eyes and not flinch. Others, he had seen of his own two eyes, preferred the cold and alien bloody red of the Sharingan.

"I will train him." Itachi declared in a tone that could not be argued with, as firm as it was. Shisui sighed softly, knowing when the mood suited Itachi he was immovable. This, Shisui knew, was such a time. So he decided a final warning, so Itachi would be warned against what he might face – or unleash – upon them.

"You know what he is the vessel of, do you not?" Shisui asked calmly, keeping his tone soft. Itachi looked at him in a puzzled manner, and Shisui was reminded of their youth, when Itachi had looked to him for a mentor. How times had changed.

"He is, they say, the Kyuubi forced to human form." Shisui warned, and could see plainly the moment Itachi withdrew into himself, pensive. Shisui spoke no more of it, instead offering tea which was refused. Itachi left soon after, thanking him for the tea and company, but he did so in a cold way which left Shisui feeling as if he had betrayed something of their bond.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Naruto." Itachi called out, pulling himself from his memories and Naruto from his practice. He had been throwing kunai at a scared tree all morning, though the tree was barely scraped where Itachi had instructed Naruto to aim for.

"Yeah?" His face scrunched up – cheeks puffed up and eyes shut - Naruto turned his attention to Itachi. If this was because the boy was grateful for the lapse in practice, or merely curious to know what had caused Itachi to call him out, Itachi was unsure.

"Tell me what you think the greatest weapon available to a ninja is?" Lazily, he opened his Sharingan so to see if the boy would think to lie to him. Granted that the child was not a very good liar, indeed, if he were to be successful he would have to practice such a thing.

But it was, Itachi had found on that first day, often what Naruto did not say which was critical. With his Sharingan (which could not read minds, as Naruto was half convinced it could) he would see the physical signs of unease, a bit of sweat, a shift in weight – lack of eye contact – any of those could prove to be useful to note in the future when Itachi's life might relay upon Naruto. The same could be said to be true for Naruto, and he intended – when the time was right – to teach the boy this as well.

"Uh, what he's good at, I suppose – like kunai or jutsu, or his special technique or bloodline limit..." Naruto trailed off uneasily, looking to the tree and clearly thinking of his own lapses and weaknesses. For a moment there was bitter sadness, though when Naruto looked again to judge Itachi's reaction his expression was carefully void of those ill feelings.

"Wrong." Itachi murmured, having taken a kunai from his pouch and let the blade whirl dangerously about his finger. He was not unwary, for his Sharingan was still activated, though it could not prevent a injury it let him avoid the possibilities of acquiring one.

Naruto had tensed up, confused, though his gaze was held by the kunai. He seemed almost frightened of what Itachi would do next. Itachi could only wonder what had happened in the boys past to make him fear a weapon wielded as easily as Itachi did.

"Your greatest weapon is not anything which can be considered effective to offer a conflict within combat. It is your mind, Naruto, which you should always be aware of. For knowing yourself will assist you in knowing others, it does not hurt at all to know what your own actions and feelings in a crisis would be; a normal individual would have no hope to master such a task, but, such a person would not be a ninja." Itachi lectured, and felt a sense of pride when Naruto seemed to grasp what he was told. It was not that the boy was a fool; it was that _fools_ did not see fit to help him along as they might have with others.

' _If they do not see the potential within him…well, I do not see that they would be any better off if they let Naruto go untrained, they may very well have caused the awakening of the demon they fear, ironically, by their own actions_ …' Itachi had to wonder then if it had been some divine beings intent that Konoha be laid to dust that night, using the Kyuubi as a means to an end, for Konoha seemed intent on destroying itself if not from an outside power then from within. That being might have been turned aside that night, eight years ago, but the divine were nothing if not patient.

Itachi shook away stray thoughts, knowing now that Naruto understood that within his mind was his greatest advantage, it was time to nurture intellect while training both body and soul and sharpening the mind.

"I am glad you understand this, wisdom, I expect, will come later; for now I will teach you what others would not. These are sacred teachings, unknown save by the select elite. You must never tell of what you learn, unless one day you take on an apprentice." Itachi mused over the last words, not liking to think of a time when he would not be by Naruto's side. He realized then, as he taught the Forbidden Scrolls (which he had long ago memorized with his Sharingan eyes), that he was not training a student so much as he was turning the boy into his equal and partner.

Reeling somewhat from this realization, Itachi felt as if the day passed far too swiftly, though he saw Naruto home safe all the same.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O

It was that night which was one that Itachi would not soon forget. Shisui greeted him at the entrance of the Uchiha Compound, for a while they walked together in silence. When Shisui spoke, however, it did not surprise him; Shisui had never been one for long silences.

"How did the teaching of your student go?" Itachi remembered clearly his realization that he was shaping Naruto into his partner, and did not speak for a long while. Instead he stood and watched the horizon, unseeing to the beauty of color painted against the clean low clouds.

"He is surprisingly…decent." Itachi did not make a habit to compliment others and so found the words came with some difficulty. It surprised him, how hard it was to acknowledge the abilities of another he thought of as not _quite_ as powerful as he, came to him. Shisui showed a moment of open surprise of his praise, for it was no other kind of comment that came from Itachi.

"Worthy of the training of the great Itachi Uchiha, then?" Shisui teased gently, and Itachi did not so much as smile as he regarded the rising moon with a solemnity that Shisui had never seen. Itachi could be thought of as cold and wary, serious of his own right, but never so peaceful while considering something that was solemn.

"I would say so, yes." Itachi finally answered, sensing Shisui's need for words. That too, lay between them. Itachi did not need words to understand, or to communicate openly where a gesture would do. He had sometimes felt that his younger brother and Shisui kept him human, with their need for chatter.

"Huh, you surprise me cousin, you are serious about this boy. I thought that…" Shisui trailed off, having been rambling and only then did Itachi pay his words mind. Something dangerous lurked in Itachi's eyes as he regarded Shisui, who found this confrontation uncomfortable.

"That… what?" Itachi murmured, soft and somehow more deadly for it. Shisui straitened his spine, he would not cower before Itachi who he had changed the dippers of and acted as playmate in the few years before the Kyuubi attack that turned Itachi from child to adult, seemingly without time enough between.

"You have never held much patience for fools, Itachi." Shisui spoke his voice pitched low so not to seem threatening.

"He is not a simpleton." Itachi told him in tones of defense, as he might have defended the actions of a comrade.

"As you say, cousin, I will not feud with you. If the child has left this much of an impression upon you within only these few days, I would dearly like to meet with such an individual." Shisui murmured, sometimes almost whispering the words. It seemed to him that Itachi had gotten something back from Naruto, his humanity, whatever might his cousin had gifted Naruto with in turn; Shisui could not begin to guess. It drove him to curiosity like nothing else could.

"You're asking where he lives, Shisui." There was something mocking about Itachi's tone, and though Shisui felt a bit of fury stir, he remained passive.

"Yes." Shisui agreed with Itachi's assessment, for it was true.

"You only need to say as much, along the apartments about the river. He might be pleased to meet another who thinks him not a monster or fool. Tell me of how your meeting goes." Shisui grit his teeth, there was carelessness about how Itachi took his interest in Naruto that bothered him.

Itachi had always been very good about guessing the intentions of those around him, but Shisui did not like that Itachi thought to give him permission and expected him to drop everything, so it seemed, merely to satisfy Itachi's curiosity.

"As you will, Itachi." There was nothing of the rage he felt in Shisui's tone. He knew better then to do something so foolish. He wondered how Itachi might react to finding his precious student dead as his father wished. It was no secret what the Head of the Uchiha clan wanted. For a moment he wondered at his own thoughts, and then was lost to feeling of resentment in being thought less of, of Itachi taking him for granted. Shisui started off to where Itachi had told him the apartment of Naruto was, paying no heed to the dried-blood red gaze of a Sharingan that watched him.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Itachi did not know what it was, but as he laid out on his bed, sleepless, he wondered over Shisui's odd phrasing, beginning to worry – as he had never so worried for another that was not kin or comrade – about Naruto's safety when confronted with Shisui. He stirred then, deciding to take a walk.

It was what he told himself, even as he left his room, jumping from roof to roof as he went to prove his fears and worries unfounded, though he would never had said so aloud or faced himself with such a thing. Not after finding that he had subconsciously been training Naruto be, not student, but a comrade and partner he could rely on.

What he found when he reached Naruto he knew he would never forgive Shisui of. His cousin's death soon after by his own hands was just as well, for he should have known better then to hunt, than trap – and try to _kill_ – what was not his.

 


	3. Whisper From Shadows Enshrined

Itachi did not know what it was, but as he laid out on his bed, sleepless, he wondered over Shisui's odd phrasing, beginning to worry – as he had never so worried for another that was not kin or comrade – about Naruto's safety when confronted with Shisui. He stirred then, deciding to take a walk.

It was what he told himself, even as he left his room, jumping from roof to roof as he went to prove his fears and worries unfounded, though he would never had said so aloud or faced himself with such a thing. Not after finding that he had subconsciously been training Naruto be, not student, but a comrade and partner he could rely on.

What he found when he reached Naruto he knew he would never forgive Shisui of. His cousin's death soon after by his own hands was just as well, for he should have known better then to hunt, than trap – and try to _kill_ – what was not his.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O

In the morning, Itachi found himself in Naruto's bed. He wasn't quite sure how he had gotten there (surely, if he had been aware, he would have insisted to take the floor?) but found it…pleasant, to be entangled with golden limbs and the warmth of the child who curled about his side, his head snugly tucked under Itachi's chin, with a hand against his chest, as if to keep him where he was.

With a sort of vagueness that worried him, memory of last night tugged at him. Shisui had been in the very room Itachi now slept in, staring down at Naruto with eerie red eyes. Itachi had never known Shisui to have such coldness in him. He had greeted Itachi with a nod and with an odd sort of smile as he showed what was in his hand - a kunai. It wouldn't take much to hurt Naruto with it.

"What are you doing, Shisui?" Itachi remembered asking as he had then, his emotions tightly leached as he faced Naruto's would-be killer. Shisui did not seem to realize the danger he was in, as he tilted his head at Itachi as if his answer should be obvious. Itachi had been stuck by how…puppet-like, the motion had been.

"Killing, Itachi – this boy holds the demon that killed my parents, I will have my revenge." Shisui had told him, unheeding of his danger as Itachi clenched his fists, white-knuckled in his rage. He faced a choice he could not escape, to kill his best friend – a brother in all but blood – or to protect his student, who he was shaping into his partner. It was no choice, really, though Itachi still felt obligated to give Shisui warning.

"He is my student, Shisui, under my protection." Itachi knew that Shisui had understood, for he had paused, turning back to Itachi his eyes narrowed as he took in Itachi for what might be the last time. There was something of amusement in Shisui's crimson eyes.

"You'd protect him, from …me?" Shisui asked, his brow raised in confusion, and something shifted beneath his features, fear, but Itachi could not be distracted…if he allowed himself to be, he might have killed Naruto himself for all the good he could do if he let what Shisui had meant to him get in the way of what was about to happen.

"If I must…" Itachi let warning, a certain harshness that Shisui would recognize for his killing instinct, enter his eyes and voice. Shisui dismissed them, almost carelessly, as if he did not recognize the danger Itachi presented. Something in Shisui did, for there was a dreadful recognition, a sorrow, in his eyes, even as Shisui turned from to regard Naruto with a sneer.

"Then it is the Kyuubi which holds you, I shall free you, Itachi." Naruto seemed all too still, and for a moment of panic Itachi wondered if Shisui had struck. His limbs moved on instinct, enveloping Shisui in a hug from behind, his own kunai he had intended to use on Naruto forced into his chest. With the weight of Shisui adding to his own, Itachi let himself slid to the ground, keeping Shisui from touching it.

"Ah…Itachi?" Shisui hissed, there was relief in his eyes, and something like understanding. It seemed so close to his death that Itachi had his friend who he had known all his life back in his arms. Itachi held him still, head bowed as he felt wetness on his cheeks. Blood seeped from the wound, slow, as if it was not so very deadly as Itachi knew it to be.

"I am sorry, Shisui…." Itachi murmured, brushing a stray bit of Shisui's disarrayed hair from his face. There was a moment Itachi thought he held a dead body, for he did not breathe for a time, and then Shisui inhaled, coughing wetly as he forced himself to speak.

"Couldn't…stop him…not your, fault…forgive you, Itachi…" Shisui muttered, and Itachi lowered his eyes, whatever it was that left the eyes with death – life, soul – he watched it leave, bit by bit, from Shisui, but could not bare to see Shisui die in this way. When he heard the rustle of cloth, Itachi looked up to see Naruto.

He knew by the look Naruto gave him that despite his stillness of 'sleep' he had been aware the entire time. It was just as well, Itachi had needed help disposing of the body – it was Naruto that suggested a river, for a river rock could maim a body as a kunai did. Only after did Itachi write the suicide note with his Sharingan.

Now Itachi's head ached, and his eyes burnt as if touched. If Itachi believed in such things, he would have thought this a form of revenge beyond the grave; for all that Shisui had left him with his forgiveness. With stinging eyes, Itachi held Naruto closer, tightening his grip so to find comfort. Calm blue eyes blinked open to look up at him, brilliant in the light of the sun, and then they filled with something like fear and Itachi knew it was not his imagination – that there was a reason – his eyes and head ached that was beyond grief.

"Itachi, your eyes….the Sharingan is…strange." Naruto faltered for words, and let Itachi go into the bathroom to see for himself. When he came out, he gestured for Naruto to start to get dressed. The blond obeyed, pensive and glancing to him every once in a while.

"What will you do?" Naruto finally asked, having finished dressing, Itachi frowned as he looked out the window and then to the floor where Shisui had died. Naruto had cleaned it up well; he couldn't find any of the dark stains of blood along the wood floor.

"What I can, Naruto, I will go beneath the Uchiha compound, into the shrine, and you…" Itachi trailed off, unsure, until with a grin Naruto filled his silence with his own bit of an answer.

"Will come with you..." Itachi gave the golden-straw haired boy a smile, though he didn't say anything more – partly afraid he'd lose his nerve – as he slipped out the window, he was slow enough only so that Naruto could follow him, even so he took care that no one else would.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Naruto had expected something _more_ , of the family shine of the Uchiha. Other then the novelty of it being underground and filled with odd paintings hug from the wall – and in some places, painted and engraved into it – and the books, the Uchiha shine seemed only a library and a small alter covered in a fine linen, with the Uchiha symbol of a fan emblazed upon it.

Itachi seemed all too content to read through scrolls and ignore Naruto's fidgeting. Naruto tried to see this as a lesson, or game – how long could he stay bored and not bother Itachi with the fact? Naruto seemed to be winning, until Itachi spoke.

"It says…something about a Mangekyo Sharingan; it's rare, for good reason seeing as how it is gained." Naruto knew Itachi was implying _something_ of Shisui's death, but Naruto frowned, as it did not make sense to him. He decided to tell Itachi so.

"Uchiha kill all the time- it's what ninjas are _supposed_ to do…so why don't more of them have this… Mangekyo Sharingan-thingy?" Naruto asked oddly tentative, knowing he was prodding at a sensitive subject but nonetheless unable to help himself even as he asked. Itachi pointed wordlessly to the script, and Naruto peeked over his shoulder, his mouth opening and closing as he voicelessly read.

"What's 'significant kin or kith'?" Naruto muttered softly, and Itachi bit his lip as heat traced light fingertips from his ear to spine. Naruto remained obvious, much to Itachi's own relief.

"It means someone important to you." Itachi told him voice distant as he looked to the torches. They flickered, and Itachi thought he saw Naruto's shadow quiver as it clung to Itachi's back. He bit his lip, everything seemed to taunt him, that Naruto was too young, no matter that Itachi wanted him.

"Oh, so you had to…kill someone who's precious to you. Makes sense, I guess. But if you killed him to save me, does that make me…?" Naruto trailed off, a warm flush to his cheeks as he glanced at Itachi, something like desire stirred in Itachi's lower regions though he grit his teeth to ignore it.

"Precious…?" Itachi murmured, feeling Naruto shiver against him, he was all too aware how easy it would be to drag Naruto into a kiss. To make him beg, as he longed to hear, though he only would admit it in his dreams, where Naruto clung and cried out against him…

"…Y-yeah." Something on Itachi's face must have hinted at his longing, for Naruto had ducked his head bashfully into his shoulder. The flame on the torch went out, he felt Naruto tense, even as both of them searched the shadows for the danger they sensed.

"Well isn't _this_ touching…so sorry it all must be interrupted so soon." Despite the attempt for apology, the tone was mocking and Itachi looked to see lost within the shadows were two gleaming red eyes of the Sharingan. They mirrored his own changed eyes, when he had glimpsed them.

"What do you want?" Itachi demanded, for though the shadows were all around them, it was only the glimmering red eyes which pulled their attention. Naruto was still beside him, only his warmth and the thud of his heart reassured Itachi of his life.

"So many things, too many of which you would not understand, Itachi Uchiha, kin slayer of Shisui….naughty boy, you've been busy dealing out death…" There was no shame in the tone, as if whoever he was – for it was a male voice –found death amusing, as if a grim sort of hobby, like one might regard pressing live butterflies with books or stuffing trophy kills from a hunt.

"I don't understand." Itachi grit his teeth as he spoke, feeling as if those eyes measured him and found him lacking, though still apparently worth _something_ to keep him alive.

"Of course you don't, I don't mean for you to either. Back to what I want, for that is, concerning you, is simple enough. I want you…as my apprentice. Of course, you'd have to get rid of your own to learn from me, but that should be an easy task for a kin-slayer…" There was a dark amusement there, though the tone was not one to be disobeyed. Itachi had been a pawn too long, and he narrowed his own eyes at the shadows, aware they gleamed a bloody red alike what he faced.

"Itachi…" For the first time, Naruto spoke, and there was fear – who wouldn't fear the dark and its bloody eyes? – but there was resignation there too. As if Naruto had accepted his life would be forfeit, if it meant Itachi would live on. It was likely what the creature they faced thought as well, though Itachi knew differently.

"Never, Naruto, do you hear me? I won't." Itachi promised, and though he could not see the blond in the darkness he held him firmly against his body, as if he did not want to lose him. That was true enough.

"How touchingly _noble_ , but Itachi, how very _foolish_... If you do not bow to my whim, I will see that you are named kin-slayer in truth, all of the Uchiha will die, and you will be rightly blamed." It taunted, and Itachi had a thought for his mother – his little brother – but pressed it away. If it meant falling into this… _things_ …hands, he knew they would not want him to do so, even to save them.

"Who are you?" Itachi asked then, wanting the name, and the knowledge such a name and identity would give. Itachi did not like threats, and the more you knew, the more you no longer feared, though knew you could kill. Not even spirits were immortal, for they too moved on.

"An ancestor, of sorts, I am called Madara Uchiha." The name froze him, the identity chilled him, and Itachi felt he might be swept away in the face of what he was dealing with. He _knew_ of Madara, and feared him all the same. It was a fool who did not, for even 'dead' Madara found ways to come back and haunt his 'family'. There had been sightings of him – taunting – every time something would fall upon the Uchiha; some saw him as a warning, some said he played a part, no one was sure of his reasons.

"You lie." Itachi accused, even as his fear bled from him leaving only calculation and killer instincts.

"I do not, and I am offended, what would you do if I strangled that little blond of yours, telling you he is not precious to you after all – that he is not the vessel of Kyuubi?" It was dangerous to tell a spirit that it wasn't what it thought it was, some were so old they faded but clearly Madara was not so weak. Itachi might not have expected any less. Naruto stared out into the darkness, blue eyes frightened, but not with terror as Madara night have thought. Itachi knew very well Naruto had had threats to his life, Shisui proved that – but he also had Kyuubi, and there was no love lost between a demon and its all too mortal host.

"You won't touch him…" Itachi growled, voice pitched low to carry his threat. The shadows seemed to withdraw by creeping inches. It was somewhat gratifying to see. There was a path opening from the shine to the upper parts of the Uchiha compound. Itachi pushed Naruto ahead of him and was relived when the boy did not run, they took their time leaving, and making sure none of the shadows followed them up. They didn't, but mockingly Itachi and Naruto heard Madara one last time as the closed the shine behind them….

"You amuse me, Itachi, so I will give you a week to decide, kill the boy – or I kill the Uchiha." It was not an idle threat, no matter that Itachi would not do as he was 'asked'. Itachi led Naruto to his room, knowing no one would be about much in the day, or at least…that was what he had thought…


	4. Bloody Rain Falling From Heaven

_"You amuse me, Itachi, so I will give you a week to decide, kill the boy – or I kill the Uchiha." It was not an idle threat, no matter that Itachi would not do as he was 'asked'. Itachi led Naruto to his room, knowing no one would be about much in the day, or at least…that was what he had thought…_

O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Itachi…?" Naruto frowned as he looked about the Uchiha heir's room, though they were more like chambers for how lifeless they looked. There was nothing of the Itachi that Naruto knew here. If it had not been for a bookcase, a dresser, and a bed, Naruto would not have thought this was a bedroom at all.

A bedroom, Naruto had been told by other orphans as a child (some of them remembered their parents and living with them…) was _your_ sanctuary, a private place that was all your own. There was some kind of boundary that even adults understood, it was yours, and yours alone. So long as you kept it clean, it could hide your treasures for a lifetime.

Naruto could not remember a time he had not wanted that sort of secret place. It was, partly, the reason he had ran away and when found, begged the Hokage for a place of his own that –so long as he went to school – he could keep. It had been a deal that the Hokage had accepted.

"You must stay here for the day." Itachi spoke softly and Naruto only nodded slowly, frowning as he watched his mentor – his one friend- look out the window. He did not want to know what Itachi was thinking – what his face would show. _If_ it would betray anything…it took a while, but Naruto could read Itachi, even when others would not dare.

In some ways Itachi still frightened him like on that first day, but Naruto had gotten used to it. Itachi was not going to change. Itachi was strong in the way that adults acknowledged and stood by him, though he was frightening to those his own age for that same reason.

" _Why_ …is it because of Shisui and your eyes, or that voice… Madara...?" Naruto struggled with that name, shivering as he felt cold even though the sun shining through the window Itachi stood by was warm as yesterday. Naruto wondered then, if Itachi felt as chilled as he did…or was it something more?

"All of it, Naruto. I do not know what to do. Shisui will be fished out of the river by afternoon. You must not speak of any of this to anyone, do you understand? _No one_ can ever know…" Itachi looked at him then and what had been _wrong_ with his eyes was gone. So was the red Sharingan that Naruto had come to read and understand and think natural.

His eyes were black – as black as the shadows that had spoke with red eyes. Like tunnels with wet glistening walls, it was strange to see Itachi with _these_ eyes – the eyes he had been born with. As if he was trying to hide himself. Naruto knew that notion was silly, Itachi would never hide who he was, he was only trying to hide the Mangekyo Sharingan which had frightened Naruto when he had woke to it watching him. Still, it lingering in his mind – was Itachi hiding what he had become (" _kin slayer_ ", Madara had hissed) with his eyes or was it because of Naruto?

"But…the Hokage…?" Naruto did not flinch away, merely looked down at his feet, wondering when – and why – Itachi had felt he had had to distance himself from Naruto. Maybe he had made up his mind. Would Itachi kill him – if only for his bloodline? Naruto know bloodlines meant something big to Konoha, for no orphan ever had one. Without one you were worthless, in the eyes of those with a bloodline – Itachi, Naruto knew with his heart aching even as he thought it, had a long bloodline that tied to the beginnings of Konoha – and… Madara…

"Not even he…." Itachi knelt to see eye to eye with Naruto, frowning when the blond did not meet his eyes willingly. Naruto, he knew, had been treated poorly all of his young life – did he think that this changed things? That with this new danger Itachi would turn on him? Not even the Hokage – who Naruto had trusted, could protect them from Madara – did not Naruto understand this? That only Itachi would protect Naruto because if this was brought to light, Konoha would have a voice and force the Hokages hand – would force Itachi to take up the offer Madara had granted? Itachi tilted his head to the side narrowing his eyes at the blond until Naruto gathered enough words to speak.

"Alright…if you're sure…" There was a flash of sky blue eyes, but it reassured Itachi that Naruto would do as he asked. Itachi vowed to himself that when he got back home he would explain things to Naruto fully, that there would be no more hidden things. Naruto had to know to survive; Itachi would not shrink now from acknowledging the danger that stalked them.

"I am." Itachi murmured holding his tone firmly, holding those blue eyes with his own black ones. Understanding passed between them, and Naruto chewed a little at his bottom lip before speaking again.

"What will you do until…?" Itachi felt his lips quirk, amusement passing though his dark eyes. He reached out to ruffle wild blond hair, relieved when blue eyes glared at him with annoyance, not yet too frightened of him to hide what he felt. Lips pouted in a sulk, and Itachi chuckled softly knowing that Naruto still trusted him.

"Do not worry so, I only have to be Captain of the ANBU and Uchiha heir for this day, it is not a hard part to play. You will stay here…try to get some sleep." Itachi reluctantly stood, ignoring it as Naruto yawned and squinted up at him suspiciously. Itachi knew that in the dark, Naruto would live again with the fear of seeing Shisui intent on stealing his blood to stain his kunai.

In the light of day, Itachi could only hope it would grow to be less.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Why are _you_ in my big brothers room?" Naruto jerked with surprise, his heard pounding through his ears as he looked wide eyed at the boy straddling the window, glaring at him with narrowed eyes and pressed lips. For a moment Naruto thought this –somehow- was Itachi, then the differences slowly surfaced to his mind and he found himself glaring right back for all he was worth.

"Big brother…? _Oi_ , Itachi told me to stay here. So that's what I'm doing, jerk." Sasuke had snorted softly as Naruto had spoke, coming in the rest of the way into the room. Naruto noticed with annoyance that Susuke was taller then he was, even if Naruto had been standing up – which he was not. Naruto hadn't bothered to budge off of the bed and now found he was being sneered down at.

It probably would have caused someone else (who hadn't had Itachi death glare at them with the intent to kill or maim, _and_ hadn't been threatened by shadows with bloody eyes) to flinch. Naruto only found himself grinning when the Uchiha curled his nose, sticking out his bottom lip in something like a sneer (or a pout) Naruto found himself grinning, fox-like, all the wider.

"Well you _can't_!" Susuke declared, becoming fed up with Naruto and his grinning. Naruto put a finger to his bottom lip, as if he was thinking about what Sasuke said very hard (which he was not) and raised his eyes up when Sasuke seemed smug about Naruto's choices.

"But… _why_ not…?" Naruto knew he was very good (or so Itachi had told him) at playing the child. Sasuke's reaction (blinking, a blank look on his face) told him that Itachi hadn't been wrong. Sasuke didn't even seem to _consider_ that Naruto was playing him for a fool. Which he was; Sasuke had woken him from the only sleep he'd gotten since waking up to the stranger eyes Itachi had acquired seemingly overnight. Such would not be forgiven so easily.

"Because… I _say_ so!" Sasuke glared at him, as if this should be all the answer Naruto should need (or deserve). Behind the tilted head and the widening grin, Naruto was loosing his temper, his blood beginning to boil over with his rising anger. He had _always_ been dead-last to the village, he'd played the trickster with ease as it seemed the only hand given to him.

He'd gotten used to the way Itachi was treating him; with respect, as – if not an equal – then someone of value. He was no longer the puppet being played by careless words thrown at him by ignorant adults or peers.

Itachi had taught him better then that; just because someone was older – and thought they deserved respect – didn't change facts. You had to _earn_ respect. Itachi had told him that as an Uchiha, a semblance of subordination was given outright, it came from the long history of the clan – it was honor of a name; not the respect of an individual. It was about time Sasuke learn this; Naruto was just the one to teach him.

"So, who are _you_ to tell me anything I'd _listen_ to?" _Or obey_? Naruto didn't have to say the last part, Sasuke heard it loud and clear. Flushed with anger, Naruto almost thought Sasuke might hit him – that was something he had not expected – all that anger was directed at him.

In some ways, it was no worse then what he had suffered with day to day, but this was personal in a way that Naruto had never understood. He'd dug himself into this situation. He had been the direct cause. This anger was not a mystery; that much was a relief.

Sasuke surprised him though, he did not strike out, but instead he tilted his chin up, eyes glittering darkly down at him with his hands clenched to his sides.

"I am Sasuke Uchiha!" It was an introduction that Naruto would not soon forget. With his words Sasuke earned a bit of his respect. Though it was a long shot in the dark to having Naruto think Sasuke was anything like _his_ Itachi; the other boy was still so sure of himself in ways that Naruto envied and pitied all at once.

 _What would he do_ , Naruto wondered as he gave Sasuke a lingering up-and-down gaze, _if he knew that the Uchiha clan was threatened by the likes of Madara_?

"You think that matters so much to me, huh?" Naruto murmured with narrowed eyes, this time Sauske looked truly baffled by his lack of reaction, instead looking down to his shoes as he spoke his next words.

"It should." It was softly spoken, with something like regret. Naruto felt a sudden kinship with the dark haired boy with his black eyes, in his own way Sasuke was just as alone as Naruto had always been. The feeling didn't last long; it was just too much fun to provoke the other boy.

"What do you mean?" Naruto nudged with his words and was not disappointed.

"Big brother spends more time with _me,_ then with the likes of you." The words were almost a hiss, but Naruto had to hold in his laugh of delight as he glared right back into the dark eyes that did not flinch from meeting his. Naruto smirked as he shouted his next words, heedless of whoever might overhear them.

"Oh, yeah, big deal – can't pick your family, he's _my_ tutor!" Sasuke's jaw dropped open, clearly surprised at the nature of this relationship (had Itachi _never_ taught anyone else outside family?) snapped his jaw closed and shook his head in denial as he growled out his next words.

"He isn't!" Silence settled between them for a while, until Naruto smirked slowly in a way that would have had even Itachi uneasy.

" _Prove_ I'm wrong!" His words were a rumbling purr; they met with narrowed black eyes and an arrogant tilt of a chin.

"I will, follow me, oaf…" It was not in Naruto to resist a challenge the likes of which Sasuke had given him.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O

" _Poor Shisui, he didn't have a chance. Never did_."

Itachi had never liked pity. He liked it less when he was the cause of it; something like this reminded him every time that he was at fault – yet he to be thought the victim. Weak. To be pitied. All too often he was. He had learned at an early age to kill. Killing had never bothered him, the moment – the thrill, it was almost enough of an addiction to look forward to. For that, too, he was pitied, weak in the eyes of his elders.

Worse then pity were the frowning lips, accusing eyes, ever present; the invisibly pointed finger never straying from where he stood.

What surrounded death, circling it like scavengers ever present – those were words.

" _He drowned himself, it was a choice. His choice,_ _in the end…he choose to be weak."_

Words like these. Accusation.

 _"Is that what you really think_?"

Questions; people wondered (he would think less of them if they did not, if they merely _accepted_ everything as-is) about death, about what caused it – why it happened, how it could happen to someone as nice and pleasant as the newly deceased. Why, after all, did people die at all?

" _No."_

Itachi knew though, knew in a way that they could not. They died for the same reason that fire destroyed. For the same reason there was birth. This world was always renewing itself, surviving, living on; as it would continue on, even when Itachi died.

" _So what do you think_?"

Itachi, who had killed so many, did not think he had ever regretted any death more then this one. It had been necessary. It had hurt.

" _I think the choice was made for him…recently_."

Yet the whispers, the accusing hisses, they still dug at him, without mercy. They did not think he had mercy – so why grant such to him when he was only out of sight (though not, obviously, out of hearing range) with the dead body of his best friend – _his cousin_ – at their feet?

" _A murder…this being the cover-up_?"

He did not deserve their mercy; did not want their pity.

" _Yes_."

So what was left to him? The _kill_ – the many dead that trailed in his wake, he was, at least – very good at what he did; who else could claim what he had at his age? Did he have nothing else to live for but the killing?

" _Then who_ …?"

Was he so weak?

" _Who do you think_?"

Did they think he had no _reasons_? That he had become so cold to life, to living, that what he lived for now was the death of others? That he was a tool? Was he so easy to understand now that they had found this achingly familiar body? Was he no longer a genius in their eyes, only a simple pawn of his fathers making…

"… _Itachi_ …"

Was that what was left of him? Was _this_ his legacy?

" _Have you heard they let out the Academy early_?"

No. Itachi knew better then to think like that. They did not look " _underneath_ , the underneath"; what would his father find use of in the death of Shisui? What would anyone? Not even Itachi had anything to gain. They were only used to putting the blame upon him. They did not know him.

" _That honor doesn't do Shisui any good_."

Not like Shisui had known him. Shisui – who had been killed, murdered.

" _No, but I've heard something interesting – Itachi, he took a student on, to tutor_."

…but not by Itachi…. He had that truth, at least. Shisui had been used against him, manipulated, even as he had died.

" _Who_ …?"

Itachi would have his revenge on Madara…

" _Naruto Uzumaki_."

That was what he did, after all, he killed. There had always been reasons. None could match the reasons that Madara had given him; his student, his friend, his family. For them, Itachi would go on.

 _Had_ to go on…

" _Better him then one of ours_."

…For _them_ …

O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"…Mother? What is the matter?" Itachi was not usually greeted with the door flung open before he had taken his first step onto the porch. His mother's features twisted with disappointment, her slight figure slumping with guarded displeasure. It stung him, but it worried him as well. His mother had always cared for him, that she would show her expression so obviously…it meant something more then his early return worried her.

"Oh, Itachi…I…I was hoping it was Sasuke back from the Academy…" Her words came haltingly, soft to the point where he had to strain to hear. It was a relief to hear the truth in her, after the accusation and mistrust and doubt he had faced since Shisui had been dragged up from the clutches of the river.

"He has not returned?" Itachi asked of her, frowning, for while his brother had friends of a sort, he had always admired Itachi more and would rush back home to spend just a little more time with Itachi then he usually would. Until recently (if he was truthful Itachi knew "recently", was truly, "until Naruto") Itachi would indulge his brother.

"No, do you think that…that he might have run away because of Shisui…?" His mother strained with the thought that her youngest – her baby – had run away. Itachi felt his heart hurt in the same way it had with loosing Shisui as it did with the desperation in her voice. Itachi would have done anything to ease it. Though there was only one thing he could think to do.

"No, let me check on something in my room and then I will go out and look for him." Her relief was fleeting, for her eyes lowered with the strain of her fears. Itachi did not know how to reassure her, so he walked onward to his room. He had to tell Naruto that he would be gone for a little while longer (if Naruto was difficult, Itachi knew he would take the boy with him) it might shape out be a lesson of some sort.

A lot of this life, Itachi knew even as young as he was, would be waiting and then hurrying.

"Thank you…Itachi." His mother's words might have been comforting – if not for one small thing – Naruto (and, he realized analyzing the situation with cold calculation of odds and possibilities) was missing. So was Sasuke. There were no coincidences.

Itachi left without a word to his mother, hoping he would not be too late if they were in enemy hands… as Naruto was the most distinctive to trace (being theJinchuuriki of the Bijuu Kyuubi) he would start with his student and hope he was not to late for his brother. Or that Sasuke was with Naruto, which did not bode well for their odds of survival.

Itachi realized as he flickered into the trees above Naruto's location, at the very fact that he could trace Naruto's aura by being a vessel; it made him vulnerable in a way that most would consider strength.

It was then that Itachi recognized the area in which he found himself, no matter that he had followed them as carelessly as he had, for all he had paid attention he could have walked into a trap and not cared. This was a clearing in the forest-garden outside the Uchiha compound that he most often took Sasuke to train. He felt his heart beat slow as the adrenaline faded.

He was in no danger here – neither would _they_ be.

"Oi, jerk, I'm telling you a bunch of scarred up trees don't prove shit."

Though later… they would not thank him for his little "joke"….Itachi smirked as he withdrew eight kunai from his pouch. It was fair game, a fright for a fright – though _they_ would never know he had feared for them. He took a breath, and heard the satisfying " _thunpth, ooof_ " of the kunai embedding into the bark and the breath of a smaller body being forced out with the impact of a tree.

"What the hell…! Uchiha?" Naruto had not had any time to react and found himself pinned to the tree, helpless, as Sasuke watched on, wide eyed. Sasuke held his breath, tense, when he felt the blade of a kunai press into the soft and vulnerable flesh of his jaw.

"Hello, little brother – and _Naruto_ , what a surprise…when I _asked_ you to " _remain in my room_ "…. what part did you not _understand_?" The words were hissed into the twilight and Sasuke relaxed only a little when he realized it was his brother – very pissed off, but still his brother – who was pressed to his back with a kunai to his throat. He knew that this was a lesson; Naruto had not lied when he'd said what Itachi was to him. This was a lesson for Naruto.

"I, uh, thought it was, ah, a _suggestion_. You did say to take a nap, too." Naruto was nervous, squirming for all they both knew it would do him no good; the kunai had dug in deep into the bark. Though it was only his clothes that had been pinned, they had been dug in such a way that there was no slack.

"Did you follow that bit of _advice_ as well as you have my only _request_ , hmm?" Itachi was not very angry, but he had not liked finding things not as he had left them. For a moment he had thought he would have to live with himself if he found he had failed.

"He did, I, uh, found him sleeping in your bed." Sasuke blurted out uncomfortably, his words surprised Itachi – but no more then they surprised Naruto who gapped at the darker haired boy open mouthed. Itachi caught Sasuke's eye, smirking.

"Shocked, little brother?" Sasuke blinked at him, puzzled, but he flushed a moment later his mind caught up with his words and Itachi's implications. Sasuke did not meet either of their eyes for a long while then he shifted (Itachi was careful to predict that movement and make moving with his brother –and the kunai at his neck - look seamless and easy) mumbling a word that was easy enough to make out.

"No…" Itachi felt his lips pull back in something like a smirk. He knew Sasuke had always been curious why Itachi never brought a girl home, he'd let his brother draw his own conclusions and answers from this night.

"Leave him alone, Itachi…He only wanted to show me this…" Naruto – for the first time – showed signs of being angry on his brother's behalf. Itachi frowned slightly wondering why they were showing a united front when before he had made his approach they had been squabbling.

"This, what…?" Itachi drawled the word out, offering Naruto a way to continue when he had trailed off. He was curious to what Naruto might say.

"That you gave a damn about him." Naruto spoke those words bitterly, remembering his own past.

"You thought that I did not?" Sasuke would not meet his eyes as Itachi asked that of him. There was a long silence between them as they considered each other, there were things that needed to be said – and things that must never be said yet were known all the same.

"I…I don't _know_ , Itachi, you never say _anything_ about anything important…ever…I just…" Sasuke struggled with his words until he came to a stuttered stop. Itachi released him, stepping away to make it plain that he was free – though Naruto was anything but. Unsurely, Sasuke looked to Naruto and then Itachi.

"Enough. Go back home. Mother is waiting for you." Itachi told him pretending not to see the unasked question in his brother's eyes. He wanted to see how far Sasuke would push him. Somewhere along the way, Itachi had hurt his brother – it was time that damage was assessed. He did not know if it was a wound that could heal whole, though perhaps it could be mended.

"You won't…hurt him…will you, big brother?" Sasuke asked, addressing his feet. Itachi waited until he looked up and to his features – pale and frightened of the answer that was not coming – before he spoke.

"No." Naruto faked a sigh of relief, though he was ignored.

"Thank you." It was mumbled but Itachi nodded in acknowledgement, which reassured Sasuke. Itachi waited until he could not see or hear his brother before turning to deal with the boy pinned by (many) kunai to a tree. It was something someone else might find amusing; they did not. Naruto was a little bit annoyed while Itachi waited, musing on how to phrase his question.

"Does he truly think I am so cold as to kill you, Naruto?" Itachi did not know why he sought reassurance from Naruto, but there was no mocking in his answer. There was nothing in the blond that could be faked. It was reassuring to Itachi, even in his darker moments.

"Don't know myself, Itachi, sometimes – you know? But I get it, at least, I'd rather not have you any other way then how you are." There was another long moment in which nothing was said aloud though things that were unspoken were settled with more ease. Finally, after it seemed Itachi might stand in the forest-garden all night, he stirred. Naruto had never been more relieved for he was becoming cold and did not like being stuck to one place.

"So…you have made a friend of my brother." There was amusement and curiosity there. Naruto couldn't tell what _else_ it was that Itachi was saying. There was always more then one meaning behind the Uchiha's words; but this time Naruto could not grasp them. It was more then a little annoying.

"What's it to you?" It was more then slightly defensive. He had let his annoyance bleed into his tone. Too late he realized that had been a mistake. Itachi was gone – or at least out of sight. Just when he thought he might start to panic he was answered.

"A relief…." It was a whisper, but Naruto let it reassure him. Itachi was not too furious with him. He still might be reasoned with.

"Hahaha, that's funny Itachi, now let me down…" This time only silence greeted his words.

"Itachi….?" It was mumbled a little nervously, because he knew this might be another of Itachi's "jokes"… there was no answer after the longest time and Naruto finally grasped what his 'lesson' would be this time.

"Aw, shit…."

O.o.O.o.O.o.O

**Author's Note:**

> DarkCrimsonFlame3 Challenge! Itachi/Naruto: Found in "A Treasure" ch. 15
> 
> "Itachi?" His father asked one day at breakfast. "I think maybe you should try doing something social." He stated. Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Like what?" He asked. His father squirmed under Itachi's intense stare. "Maybe work with some kids, you know, be a teacher." "Like a privet teacher for kids who need help?" Itachi asked, thinking of all the possibilities if he DID decide to work with some brats. "Well I guess, if that's what you want that is. Why don't you go down to Sasuke's school and ask the teachers?" Itachi stood up and walked out without a word. His father looked over at his wife. "Was that a yes?" He asked, his wife shrugged and went back to eating.
> 
> Itachi walked down to his little brothers' school. Kids were outside playing or training. He stopped to watch for a bit. 'Having to work with some of these brats? Would I be able to stand it?' He thought and turned but something on his right caught his attention. There was a little blond boy throwing kunai at a post. 'Interesting.' Itachi smirked and walked into the school. Iruka was just finishing up some marking when he saw Itachi walk in. "Oh hello Itachi-chan, what brings you here?" He asked out of curiosity. "I want to become a tutor." Itachi stated. Iruka almost fell out of his chair in shock. "A what!?" He shouted. Itachi didn't move from his place. "You heard me." "Oh, well I guess, you are a very talented ninja sooo…" "May I see the records of the students who are struggling?" Itachi asked. Iruka sat there, mind blank. "Uhhh, oh! Yes umm…" He shuffled through his desk papers and pulled out four files. "Here are the four boys who are struggling." Itachi took them and started to flip through. "Its not that they are bad or anything they just need some help in concentration." Iruka shook his fist at the memory of their bad moments. Itachi flipped through the last page and came across the same blonde haired boy. "This boy." He said holding up the picture. "How old is he?" He asked. Iruka blinked at the picture. "Oh, Naruto? He's 7." 'Naruto-kun.' Itachi thought. He stood up and placed the files on his desk. "Well I've made my choice, thank you." He bowed and walked out leaving a confuse teacher behind. "Who'd he choose?" He asked and sat back in his chair. "I hope he helps whom ever it is."
> 
> Itachi walked outside and headed straight to the blonde. Naruto looked up at the person coming his way and squinted in the sun raise since the shadow of the person was standing in the suns line of view making it hard to see. "Naruto-kun." The person said. Naruto held a hand over his eyes and blocked out the sun and saw a handsome boy standing there, he looked a lot like Sasuke-teme. "Who's asking?" He said rudely. Itachi chuckled and bent down to Naruto's level. "I am your new tutor." Naruto looked confused. "Ehhh?"
> 
> Notes: That same year Itachi kills off his family so when he does he takes Naruto with him.
> 
> O.o.O.o.O.o.O
> 
> KingofLoosePage's Challenge (Which Will Come Into Play Later In This Plot)
> 
> #1
> 
> -Harry Potter/Naruto Crossover
> 
> -Harry/Deidara
> 
> Harry gets arrested, make up your own reason why, but escapes before he can be sent to Azkaban. Somehow he finds his way to the Hidden Countries and ends up working as a lone Jack of all Trades for hire. He ends up eventually being hired to work with someone from Akatsuki on a mission that needs his specific skills. Meanwhile, in the wizarding world, people are frantically searching for their savior because of the looming threat of a dark lord. The rest is for you to figure out.
> 
> -The person from Akatsuki can be Deidara, but it doesn't have to be. Just the pairing.
> 
> -Can have an animagus form
> 
> -If Voldemort is dead, another dark lord HAS to take his place
> 
> -Try not make Harry a weak uke, strive for a strong seme, but if you can't don't make him weak


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